A stiffening device for a base frame is disclosed. The disclosed stiffening device comprises hydraulic jacks fitted with structural members of the base frame; stain gauges coupled to the structural members of the base frame, the stain gauges configured to detect deformation in the structural members of the base frame and generate first signals based on the detected defamation in the structural members; at least one signal conditioner unit coupled to the strain gauges to receive the first signals and generate second signals by performing any or a combination of amplification, filtering and conversion of the received first signals; and a hydraulic console configured to actuate at least one of the hydraulic jacks when value of received second signals is above a predefined threshold value. Upon actuation, the actuated at least one of the jacks stiffens at least one of the structural members of the base frame.

A fender for fending a ship from a mooring wall comprises a hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly arranged so that compression of the fender is translated into a force to move the piston in the cylinder. Valves couple the hydraulic cylinder to reservoir that is at least partially filled with gas. An overpressure valve allows hydraulic liquid to flow from the cylinder to the reservoir when the fender compression force exceeds a threshold, allowing the fender to be compressed. When the force drops away, a return valve allows hydraulic liquid to return to the cylinder, causing the piston to move to expand fender, following movement of the ship away from the fender. In this way oscillating motion is reduced. A plurality of such fenders may be combined with mooring cable holding devices with a similar mechanism that pays out cable when the movement of the ship from the mooring wall cause the force on the mooring cable to grow. Energy generated from such forces may be used to reduce movement of the ship.

A spring device for spring-mounting a laundry drum of a washing machine has at least one spring means and coupling means for coupling the spring means to the spring device. The spring means has a spring constant or spring properties which are temperature-dependent and can be varied by a temperature effect on the spring means. As an alternative or in addition, the coupling means are designed in a temperature-dependent manner in such a way that they vary their coupling effect between the spring means and the spring device by a temperature effect. Heating means are provided for the spring means and/or for the coupling means in order to warm up the said spring means and/or coupling means and to change their spring properties or their coupling effect. Therefore, the spring-mounting arrangement of the laundry drum can be thermally, and therefore quickly and simply, varied.

An active composite variable damping rotational control device includes a variable damping module and a power module. The variable damping module includes a magnetorheological fluid tank and a rotational inertia wheel. The rotational inertia wheel is arranged in the magnetorheological fluid tank fully filled with magneorheological fluid. The power module includes a device tubular cavity, a driver, an encoder and a speed changer. The driver is fixed on the inner wall of the device tubular cavity. The driver, the encoder and the speed changer are coaxial. A driving shaft of the driver passes through the speed changer and extends into the magnetorheological fluid tank to be fixed perpendicularly at the center of the rotational inertia wheel. The control effect of the present invention may not be greatly affected by the change of a structural form and the change of an external load.

The invention relates to a vibration isolator, comprising: a base; a coupling element to be coupled to a vibration sensitive object; a decoupling mass; a first vibration isolator part arranged between the base and the decoupling mass; and a second vibration isolator part arranged between the decoupling mass and the coupling element, and wherein at least one of the first and second vibration isolator part comprises a pneumatic isolator.

In some examples, an oscillatory pumping system comprises: one or more active piston, a fluid, and two motors. The one or more active piston is disposed in a channel fluidically coupling two fluid chambers. The passive piston has a frequency response operable to counteract a vibratory displacement. The fluid is disposed in the channel and the two fluid chambers. The two motors couple to the one or more active piston. The two motors are operable to selectively change the frequency response of the passive piston based on oscillating the one or more active piston.

An isolator configured to isolate a payload from unwanted vibrations and shocks. The isolator includes a housing having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a primary chamber defined in the housing, a backpressure chamber defined in the housing, a conduit placing the primary chamber in fluid communication with the backpressure chamber, a backpressure membrane in the housing proximate the first end, an elastomer dome in the housing proximate the second end, and a shaft connected to the elastomer dome. The primary chamber and the backpressure chamber are between the backpressure membrane and the elastomer dome. The shaft is configured to be connected to the payload.

A vibrating machine including a first machine part that vibrates in operation, a second machine part connected to an installation area of the vibrating machine, and a vibratory drive. A resilient bearing is arranged between the machine parts and has at least one air spring per support point and at least one compressed air reservoir fluidically connected to the air spring. A throttle is switched intermediate the air spring and the compressed air reservoir. The first machine part bearing has a resonant or natural frequency lower than an operating frequency of the vibrating machine. The bearing system has a frequency-dependent lower stiffness level with high damping at low frequencies, an upper stiffness level with low damping at higher frequencies, and a transition zone at an intermediate transitional frequency. The throttle is dimensioned such that the transitional frequency is close to, preferably slightly above, the resonant or natural frequency.

The invention provides a vibration isolation device configured to support a structure, comprising: an air mount having a base part mounted on a reference structure and a vibration isolated part, and an inverted pendulum device, wherein a lower end of the inverted pendulum device is mounted on the vibration isolated part of the air mount and an upper end of the inverted pendulum device support the structure to be supported, wherein the vibration isolation device comprises a stiffness adjustment device configured to adjust the stiffness of the inverted pendulum device.

An actively controlled squeeze film damper system comprises a housing defining an annulus receiving a damping fluid during operation, a lubricant source supplying damping fluid to the annulus, and a sensor assembly for measuring a parameter indicative of a compressibility of the damping fluid. A control device adjusts the compressibility of the damping fluid within a predefined range.